Economics in One Lesson

After this book, I now think much more carefully about proposed policies/rules/business strategies/etc. "Subsidized child care" or "charge businesses per seat" can sound great on the surface, but specific proposals often have so many unintended or negative consequences that are not discussed, and it's important to weigh those consequences against the benefits.

on HN, 2019

The title doesn't do it justice because it sounds so cliche, but once you read it, you'll actually agree that this DOES cover everything you need to know about economics (although heavily biased towards austrian economics than keynesian)

on HN, 2018

It's old but many of the lessons he teaches are still relevant today. It opened my eyes to the danger of only thinking about the things that are easily observable, and ignoring the "unseen" things.

on HN, 2018

The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.

on HN, 2018

E.g. the very first chapter, the "One Lesson" (on the Broken window fallacy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_window_fallacy) will right off explain to you why "Cash For Clunkers" was such a clunker.

on HN, 2010

Explains classical economics in a way where I now can understand what politicians are talking about.

on HN, 2016

So in that spirit, here are a couple of economics books that I quite seriously believe everyone should be forced to read.

on HN, 2007